State drops pet shop checks

Agriculture officials cite budget cuts, need to monitor deer, cattle.

Agriculture officials cite budget cuts, need to monitor deer, cattle.

January 01, 2008

LANSING (AP) -- The state Department of Agriculture is abandoning most inspections of pet shops unless complaints involve serious abuse or disease outbreaks. The department says it must shift the focus to monitoring deer and cattle populations for contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. A shrinking budget is compounding the problem, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday. "In a perfect world, it wouldn't be this way," said state veterinarian Steven Halstead, who works for the department. "I have concerns that by not having the presence that we should, animals will suffer." In regulating pet shops, Michigan requires cages to be large enough for animals to stand and move around. Sick animals must get immediate medical attention. And animals must have adequate water and food. Even before the state decided to stop inspections, the newspaper said it had begun reducing unannounced visits. Most pet shops weren't inspected for years, the newspaper said records from 2002 to 2007 show. In one case, more than 30 people complained to the state this year about Pollywood Pets, located inside the Gibraltar Trade Center in Mount Clemens, Mich. Among the complaints: 20 kittens in a pen. Pollywood Pets owner Shelly Myers, who has operated the store since 1991, said conditions are improving, but she wouldn't elaborate. "It has been a learning curve for me," Myers said. "All we can do is improve our services. I take what I do seriously. It's hard work."